


Never Wake the Sleeping

by Tsaiko



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad Puns, Burials, Creepy, Deviant Burial, Gen, Inappropriate Humor, Minor Character Death, Multiverse, Off-screen death, coffins, terrible sense of humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 15:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16478258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsaiko/pseuds/Tsaiko
Summary: Who went to loot a seemingly abandoned town in a strange universe, found a giant coffin covered in locks and chains in the basement of a ransacked house, and then thought it was a good idea to undo those locks and open it? No one smart, that was for sure.When Sans and Papyrus get called into the lab on the weekend, Sans knows there is a problem. He was not expecting that problem to include a giant stone coffin, two dead humans, and a couple of creepy skeletons that look a lot like him and his brother.





	Never Wake the Sleeping

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween! My Halloween fic for 2018. People die in this. It's off screen, and they are minor characters, but still.

Sans knew there was trouble when Undyne of all people called him and Papyrus to the lab on a Sunday. She wouldn't explain why over the phone. Just a curt "Get down here. Bring your brother."

"IF THE MACHINE IS ACTING UP, SANS COULD HAVE FIXED IT ON MONDAY," Papyrus said as soon as they met up with Undyne in the lobby. Undyne greeted him with a punch in the shoulder. Sans just wisely kept out of the way.

Sans was pretty sure it wasn't the machine. For one thing, if it had been the machine, Alphys would have called him and not Undyne. Second, there would have been an explanation. Unless a contact team was stuck in another universe, Alphys would have waited till Monday. Finally, Papyrus wouldn't have been involved. 

So yeah, Sans seriously doubted there was just something wrong with the machine.

"That piece of crap is fine," Undyne said as she led him through the dim hallways. The lights were fluorescent and the walls stone grey. All the floors were cover by cheap linoleum while the ceiling was composed of off-white acoustic tiles. Dark grey metal doors lined the hallways with only an occasional plaque – X-Ray Diffraction, Mostly Non-Toxic Chemical Storage, Cleaning Supplies, High-Energy Particle Physics Lab 5 – to differentiate what went on behind closed doors.

In other words, it looked like it any lab just about anywhere. Including a bit like Gaster's. And people wondered why Sans refused to take a position here.

"NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO GO THROUGH THE PORTAL ON WEEKENDS. DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?"

Undyne hesitated, the briefest falter in her step, before she continued to march determinedly on. Papyrus had no trouble keeping up with her. Sans followed at a much lazier pace, using short cuts to keep up when the distance grew too much. 

"We'll talk about it when we get to a room. I'm not explaining this in the hall where anyone could frickin' hear," Undyne replied. She continued to lead them farther into the labs. "Alphys has more information anyway 'bout what happened."

There was the sound of someone weeping coming from a doorway as RG1 left a room. He noticed Undyne walking by. She went to slow down, but he shook his head. Undyne growled under her breath, but resumed her marching. "I'll want a report. LATER."

That wasn't ominous or anything.

They finally arrived at a door labelled "Dr. Alphys." Undyne didn't bother knocking. Just opened in and walked on in.

The first thing Sans noticed was the smell. It was the familiar scent found in dorm rooms everywhere. That of instant noodles left out too long and beginning to go sour and moldy. There was at least three instant noodle cups sitting around the computer in various states of decay. This was accompanied by two candy bar wrappers, a half-eaten bag of chips, and at least a dozen empty coffee mugs all over the desk in the room. A stool sat in front of the computer and the computer chair was pushed off to one side.

"IT REMINDS ME OF YOUR ROOM BROTHER," Papyrus said, all false cheer. Sans just sighed. It did kind of remind him of his room. Just add a lot more clothing, and eliminate the instant noodles. He'd eaten them too much while working in the labs to ever be able to stomach them again. Papyrus didn't wait for a response, just turned to Undyne. "YOU SAID YOU WOULD FILL US IN ON WHAT IS GOING ON WHEN WE WERE IN PRIVATE?

"Yeah. Guess Alphys is out dealing with this crap." Undyne practically threw herself into the desk chair. Sans did his best not to snicker when it almost rolled out from under her. "So we found one of those creepy abandoned universes on Friday. Sent a contact team and everything. There was no one to contact. The team explored as far as Snowdin. Then decided that was far enough, and came back through to here. Figured we'd explore further on Monday."

It happened that way sometimes. They'd stumble across a universe that had gone through a genocide or pacifist run. Everyone was dead or everyone had already made it to the surface. If you looked at it logically, it was hard to tell the difference between the two extremes. Emotionally though, every monster that stepped foot in a universe that had gone through a genocide run just _knew._

"You're always asking about the damn ruins." Undyne gave Sans a look like she knew he was hiding something. Sans just looked back at her, bland as ever. It was hard to be intimidated by someone who couldn't even cook dinner without setting her house on fire. "They were closed. But everything about that place gave them the creeps."

Huh. Not a genocide run then, but something had definitely happened. 

"Then yesterday, Alphys gets a call from her assistant. Come to find out the bun, two Fell universe monsters, and two humans from the labs have been GOING INTO UNIVERSES AND STEALING FROM THEM. WE DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE." 

Sans reared back at the sudden increase in volume from Undyne. "how did you not notice?"

"They put the c-c-cameras on loop." Alphys said from the doorway. She walked in, wringing her hands in front of her. Which hurt to see. The surface had been good for Alphys. She'd lost some of the hunted look to her. Whatever had happened, had put her right back to those awful days in the Underground. "They were going in as a group, and grabbing gold and monster f-food from universes that were empty. Or when the monsters in them came to live on the surface with us. Then they would sell it for surface money. Honey said they did it after hours, but that's as much as we got out of her before she started c-c-crying."

"STEALING FROM EMPTY UNIVERSES IS JUST... IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA." Papyrus shook his head. "WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED?"

"Something did happen," Undyne said. "Snowdin wasn't as empty as they thought. We just don't know what the heck they found."

"The humans are d-d-dead. One of the monsters is in the hospital. Honey and Mr. Fluffs are not talking."

Mr. Fluffs. What a name. Must be another one of the buns. "glad i don't have to explain to the humans that two of them are dead. we have no idea what they found?"

"We have some idea. Mr. Fluffs brought a camera that the humans took with them. They used it to take pictures of what they stole so they could prove that it came from _a_ Underground." Undyne made a noise of disgust before she pushed herself to her feet. "I'm going to see if RG1 got anything else from the buns. I don't need to see those pictures again."

"I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARE HERE. THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS WILLING TO HELP HOWEVER HE CAN THOUGH." That was his bro. Always willing to help out and do what he thought was right. 

"I'll show you the p-p-pictures we found on the SD card," Alphys said. She hopped onto the stool in front of her computer, completely ignored the desk chair. A stool had to be more comfortable with her tail. "Undyne and I have already looked at them. Then you'll see why she called you."

It didn't take long for Alphys to access the nearly hundred pictures on the card. The first picture showed Snowdin Forest. It was an almost artsy shot of frosted tree trunk and evergreen branches covered in snow. There was something just the slightest bit... off about it though. Like someone had added a dingy yellow filter over the blue-grey light that fell in that part of the Underground.

The next few pictures showed various traps and puzzles in Snowdin forest. Some had been triggered. Others had various parts missing due to exposure to the elements or being scavenged. Papyrus kept asking Alphys if there were any other pictures of some of them or if she could go back to the previous one. Sans finally had to step in.

"alphys can always make copies if you want to study the puzzles, bro."Alphys looked relieved.

"I WOULD LIKE THAT. SOME OF THESE ARE VERY WELL DESIGNED," Papyrus replied. "IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO REPLICATE THEM. EXCEPT I WOULD MAKE MINE LESS... MURDER-Y. ALTHOUGH WITH A TRIGGER SPRING THAT STRONG, EVEN REMOVING THE SPIKES WOULD NOT MAKE IT SAFE. I'M SURE I CAN COME UP WITH AN ALTERNATIVE THOUGH."

"The p-puzzles kill?"

"YES. I DO NOT THINK SOMEONE ACCIDENTALLY ARRANGED THEM THAT WAY." Papyrus sounded almost apologetic about it. That was his bro through and through.

"it's overkill."

"IT IS DEFINITELY... SANS."

Alphys laughed, quietly.

After the pictures of the traps came picture of Snowdin. The welcome sign was missing, with just two empty posts indicating where it should be. Next picture showed the shop. There was no front door. Just an empty void where one should be. The windows were also smashed, broken glass glittering on the snow. The next picture only confirmed what Sans suspected: the shelves were bare and the shop was empty.

Everything he'd seen in these pictures – the odd dirty cast to the light, traps designed to kill, no welcome sign, the lack of gyftmas lights, the looted shop – pointed towards another Fell universe. That's what they had taken to calling those places where things had taken a darker turn. Sans always found it more than a bit disturbing how they found more Fell universes than not.

The next few pictures showed more buildings from Snowdin, usually focused on the door or trying to look through a window. Except for the library, all of them looked rundown but in good shape. The library looked like it had been gutted. Even Grillby's was there, the lights off and a dead plant in the barrel out front. Sans could just make out a couple of beer bottles sitting on one of the tables, waiting to be drunk from the picture taken through the front window.

Alphys clicked to the next picture. Papyrus gasped. Sans let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"THAT'S OUR HOUSE."

The gyftmas lights and wreath were missing. So was all the glass in the windows, including the ones of the second floor. There was a door, but it hung part way open. There was no dog house. The shed beside the house was nothing but a burned out shell. Someone had painted a huge red X with paint across the front. 

"home sweet home," Sans said softly. 

The next picture showed their living room. The sofa had been ripped so that it was more a frame with some stuffing than a sofa. The television was missing. All the wooden furniture had been smashed, and there was faint outlines on the wall where pictures had hung. "someone hasn't been doing the housekeeping."

"IT LOOKS DUSTY," Papyrus replied. Then he gave Sans a side-eye. "I NOTICE THERE IS NO SOCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR. THAT'S AN IMPROVEMENT."

Before they could get into an argument, although by this point they'd gone through it some many times that it was almost a comedy routine, Alphys clicked to the next picture. Sans narrowed his eyes. "that's the basement door. why not go up first?"

"Maybe the stairs were unsafe?" Alphys guessed. Sans shrugged, but didn't believe that theory. He had a feeling they'd been looking for something in the basement. Like a machine that could allow them to travel to other universes without being monitored. Sans assumed the next picture showed the basement, although it was so dark it was hard to see anything. Just darker, indistinct shapes looming from the dim twilight. Someone must have found light switch, because the next picture showed the same scene only with a light on.

The first thing Sans noticed was that the machine was missing. Either it wasn’t present in this universe – which was possible but not likely given it showed up in every other universe they'd found – or it had been relocated. 

The second thing Sans noticed was the giant stone coffin. It was kind of hard to miss what with it being right in the middle of the basement. Honestly, if he hadn't been focused on looking for the machine in its usual corner, Sans would have noticed it first. The thing was raised up of the floor on a series plastic milk crates stacked together. The coffin itself was solid black stone, and covered in chains and locks. There was traces of mud on the bottom three inches of the coffin. It looked like a high water line. Patchy red-brown mud covered what little Sans could see of the basement floor.

"THAT WAS DEFINITELY NOT IN OUR BASEMENT." 

"Good to know?" Alphys replied in a tone of voice that said while she initially was confident that they did not have a coffin in their basement, she was no longer sure. Papyrus opened his mouth like he was going to continue to deny that there was any coffin in the basement. Which of course would only look for suspicious.

"those are some interesting locks on the coffin," Sans said, trying to distract his brother from making things worse. That was enough. Papyrus leaned closer to the screen, frowning in concentration. 

"THOSE LOCKS ARE NOT TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT."

"what do you mean, papyrus?"

Papyrus leaned back. "SEE THE CHAINS? ANYONE TRYING TO GET INTO THE COFFIN COULD SLIDE THEM OFF AT THE TOP. THAT METAL BAND? THERE'S ONLY A PEG HOLDING IT CLOSED. ANYONE COULD PULL THAT OUT TO OPEN IT. SO THE CHAINS AND LOCKS MUST BE TO KEEP SOMETHING IN."

Oh yes. That was a comforting bit of knowledge.

The next picture showed that the stone coffin had been opened. It was taken from an odd angle so that there was just a hint that something was inside, a flash of white against the black stone. The chains that had been wrapped around it were in a pile on the muddy floor. The lid was also on the floor. A giant crack ran through it now. Someone had dropped the lid or maybe too much pressure had been exerted trying to get it off.

Which just confirmed in Sans's mind that the group was a bunch of idiots. Who went to loot a seemingly abandoned town in a strange universe, found a giant coffin covered in locks and chains in the basement of a ransacked house, and then thought it was a good idea to undo those locks and open it? No one smart, that was for sure.

"looks like they were dying to get in," Sans said just to break the sudden tension in the room. Papyrus groaned. 

"WHY MUST YOU BE LIKE THIS? PEOPLE HAVE DIED SANS."

"yeah, it’s a grave situation."

The noise Papyrus made conveyed all his frustration perfectly. Sans had seen too much death from the resets to really be bothered by it. That wasn't a good thing. He was aware of that. It just didn't seem to matter.

"PERHAPS WE SHOULD LOOK AT THE NEXT PICTURE."

Alphys obediently clicked to the next picture on her computer screen. Sans felt all feigned disinterest leave him. Beside him, Papyrus's spine straightened. In the coffin, were two skeleton monsters on their sides and spooning. The big spoon was tall and lean and the little spoon shorter and stouter. 

A Sans and a Papyrus.

Immediately, Sans started cataloguing differences. Both of them had teeth sharped to points and hands that ended in claws. Fell Sans had a spider web crack from his eye socket and a single gold tooth. His bones had been broken in multiple places, and all the fractures healed and reinforced with additional bone growth. Fell Papyrus was no better. Sans could read the record of multiple injuries and breaks in the story of his bones, indicating a lifetime of fighting for survival. The eye closest to the camera looked like something had raked its claws across it. Sans honestly didn't know if it even worked.

Someone had shoved a rock into the Fell Papyrus's mouth, forcing his jaw open to a degree that had to be uncomfortable. There were manacles on the Fell Papyrus's wrists, and another around one ankle. The chains had rusted through at some point. Discolored, sludgy water pooled in the bottom of the coffin which probably explained the rusted through chains.

"WHY ARE THEY NAKED?" Papyrus asked. It was a good question, but Sans had a better one.

"why are they not dust?" 

"There's only one more p-picture," Alphys said. "The time stamp is about f-f-fifteen minutes later than this one. It's kind of disturbing."

"THIS WHOLE SITUATION IS DISTURBING." Sans 100% agreed with his brother on that one. 

The picture itself was blurry, as if the person taking it hadn't had time to steady the camera. It still managed to convey exactly how bad things were. There was the coffin. There was the Fell Papyrus sitting up in the coffin. And there was the malevolent glow of red colored magic surrounding the Fell Papyrus's raised hand, and emanating from his non-injured eye. One rusted manacle was just barely visible around his wrist.

"Honey and Mr. Fluffs were the two monsters that d-didn't go into the basement," Alphys said. Her voice dropped in volume. "The third monster who is in the hospital was with the humans." The next sentence was even softer, barely above a whisper. "The humans were in the basement."

Sans wasn't much for touching, but he didn't have to be. Papyrus laid a reassuring hand on Alphys's shoulder. The volume of his voice was lower than normal. "I am sure you would have stopped them had you known."

Alphys wiped at her eyes. "The d-d-director is calling their f-families. With c-c-cameras set to loop, so the guards didn't know it was happening. Who knows how many times they did this? We had no idea." She sniffled. "I worked with Pierce. Now he's d-dead. Honey c-can't stop crying. Mr. Fluffs won't say anything."

The cameras were set to loop. Sans went very, very still. "all the pictures were taken before the attack in the basement?" Sans asked even though he knew the answer.

"Yes. Why?"

"and none of the monsters were there?"

"I HARDLY SEE WHY THAT IS IMPORTANT," Papyrus said. But he was also frowning, trying to figure out Sans's logic in asking what seemed to be random questions.

"No?" Alphys's uncertainty turned her answer into a question. "I mean yes. I mean the monster that is unconscious was in the basement f-for the attack"

"how did the camera get out of the basement?"

"SOMEONE MUST HAVE CARRIED IT. SOMEONE FROM... the... basement."

All three turned to look at the last picture on Alphys's computer screen of the skeleton with the glowing red eye. There was a moment of silence as the implications sunk in.

"UNDYNE SAID THE SURVIVING MONSTERS WERE SO SCARED THEY WOULDN'T TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY HAD SEEN."

"The c-cameras were still looping when I got in this morning..."

"looks like we might have visitors."

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I read about deviant burials three weeks before Halloween, and my brain decides to cough up a story idea. I've been wanting to play with the Undertale multi-verse idea for awhile, but could never quite come up with a good way to do it. Obviously, my brain took that as a challenge and combined the two.


End file.
